The Rotating Platform and Other Podcasts from the NGamer Chaps

Splendid work Jimbob! Hope there's going to be a satisfactorily gawping surprise animation.

Been a while, ain't it?  Episode thirty ladies and jellybeans!  Tomorrow, I shall listen, and enjoy.  

Incidentally I really couldn't think of many stand-out opening bits.  Maybe XC's Mechon war? Metroid Prime's Frigate?

Balladeer wrote:

Been a while, ain't it?  Episode thirty ladies and jellybeans!  Tomorrow, I shall listen, and enjoy.  

Incidentally I really couldn't think of many stand-out opening bits.  Maybe XC's Mechon war?  Metroid Prime's Frigate?

I struggled too. The obvious ones for me were Medal of Honor Frontline and Resident Evil 4.

Good episode though! I really want to play The Last of Us now.

Apologies to anybody from the podcast that's reading, but I can't be the only one who finds the 'What We've Been Playing' segment to be really, really boring. It's nearly killed the podcast off for me a few times, and I look back on the thirty-five minutes that I spent listening to that segment yesterday as time wasted. I'd be happy to explain why I find it so dull if I'm asked, but honestly I'd suggest to cap it at five (or less) minutes talking apiece, or just to scrap it altogether.

I like the podcast otherwise, but 'What We've Been Playing' has always been a struggle for me.

I really like What We've Been Playing It's nice to hear them discussing the latest games and I tend to find they always have something a little different to say about the games than a lot of other podcasts I listen to (plus it's a podcast staple, has there ever been a gaming podcast without that second?).

Perhaps a little annoying, but can't you just skip past it?

I'd rather they changed it for the better than for me to have to skip it, to be honest. Fair enough if it's a podcast staple, but does it have to meander on for over half an hour?

Besides me being crap at podcasts, WHWBP? is one of the big reasons I stopped listening (another is the dilution of Space Ark into silly genres).

I like the WHWBP segment although this latest episode did feel too long. It basically felt like half the episode was that, and the other half was Space Ark.

Maybe it is time to introduce some new platforms? Space Ark could be a podcast itself, given the sheer number of great games out there.

I don't dislike WHWBP at all; most videogames podcasts I listen to start with that as a base. The deciding factor is whether the participants are interesting enough to keep you listening with, essentially, a chat. If they are, they stay on my subscriptions list. That's why, for example, our podcast needs a theme; none of us are actually at the level to keep people hooked like that.

The difference is that TRP, like the Bitsocket podcast, had a format which allowed them to do interesting things on top of that so even people who found the basic chat dull could enjoy the various fun features; you used to get 100% true facts, challenges, predict-o-names and all sorts. Often these days we just get WHWBP, a musical interlude, and space ark. I don't necessarily mind, but it unfortunately means TRP feels much less unique than it once did and I can see how it would out off people who don't already have time for the basic Midnight Resistance format of games then questions.

I do like the WHWBP segment on Podcasts but they can go on to long and it depends on the person as well as these guys I don't have fond memories of like you guys that I'm still trying to figure out there views.

As Matthew seems to not like a lot for the Space Ark segments which is still my fav bit and I agree with Drunka out own podcast always works better with a theme, what we've been playing is fine but you guys may not want to listen to random hipster-game X from me.

ZeroJones wrote:

Besides me being crap at podcasts, WHWBP? is one of the big reasons I stopped listening (another is the dilution of Space Ark into silly genres).

There's been a couple of Space Ark topics that I've looked at and thought 'nah, you're alright', but it's always been the ones that aren't talking about silly genres. Although I thought it had potential, quite frankly the latest one about opening sequences bored the arse off me, as I've got no interest in hearing any more about the likes of Bioshock and Half Life. Still, that's a personal preference, and I'm sure that I'll find the next Space Ark to be much more interesting (even if it is quite a straightforward genre).

I'll keep listening for at least a couple more episodes, though I'm hoping that there's less time devoted to WHWBP? (and thus less chat about "random hipster game-X"), and more fun features like they were doing at the start of podcast's run.

Balladeer wrote:

Interesting you say that - I had a rare occasion of being bored this podcast.  It was when Matthew was waffling on about Halo 5, not making jokes, just describing gameplay mechanics.  Gauging the tone of your gaming discussions so that you appeal both to people who have played the game and people who have no interest in it at all is tough, it's true, but TRP manage it most of the time.

But then they got onto launch shows and Predict-O-Names and I was giggling in the street again.  WWBP remains my least favourite segment, though.

So Cappa, you ain't alone. I'd much rather see some more of the middle bits. Surprising paucity of lava jokes this episode as well - it's a bit of a duffer all round. Every podcast has them I suppose.

Sorry for the DoPo - Cappa, have you thought about contacting TRP directly? They're a small podcast, they're likely to listen to feedback if pitched right. I'm pondering doing the same.

Nah, I feel that I've said my bit on here. I'd probably enjoy WHWBP? more if they talked about games on Nintendo consoles, or mixed it up a bit more so that they're not always talking about an indie game that everyone was banging on about on Twitter three weeks before..but thats my taste, and I can't make them play something because I might want to hear about it on a podcast that I only download every so often.

What everybody can agree on, though, is that we need more NGamer Magazine stories on the podcast. 80 minutes of those, 5 minutes of Predicto-Names, 20 minutes of Space Ark to discuss my Hogs of War suggestion from last year (no matter what the theme), and its honesty the perfect podcast.

I don't mind the indie game talk or game that's in people minds now, it's talking about the likes of Fallout 4 or Witcher III again but then's it's called WHWBP? and if that's what's they been playing then it's fair enough.

Title tweak, because TRP is not back - and looking at some of those final comments in the thread, maybe I've been wearing my rosy specs for a while - but Matthew's doing another podcast with some bloke from PC Gamer.  It's called The Back Page (which confusingly also seems to be the name of a dead Scottish sports podcast) and I'm enjoying it.  Matthew's great, and there's plenty of harking back to the NGamer days.

The second episode's all about review scores.  Buska would hate it.

Ooft, it's been years since I've thought about The Rotating Platform. I'll give this new one a go, cheers.

I'd also seen that another podcast had a two-hour episode with Tim Weaver, who used to work on N64 Magazine and the likes: https://twitter.com/MaximumPowerUp/status/1333342936168345602

Hmm . . . I've got some big hikes coming up, I need a couple of extra podcasts.

Balladeer wrote:

Matthew's doing another podcast with some bloke from PC Gamer.  It's called The Back Page and I'm enjoying it.  Matthew's great, and there's plenty of harking back to the NGamer days.

I've now listened to the three episodes that have released so far and I'm hoping this sticks around. The older perspective, the slight disconnect from what is now the mainstream and the potentially slightly different structure mean I hope this one stays in my feed for a while. In fact . . .

Quote :

The second episode's all about review scores.  Buska would hate it.

I actually liked this episode a lot better than the first! It was a unique perspective and good fun, and it was something a bit different. In the first episode, the part about console launches past was great but the PS5/ XSX chat was the exact same shit I'm already tired of hearing on every podcast on my feed, gaming or otherwise.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I'd also seen that another podcast had a two-hour episode with Tim Weaver, who used to work on N64 Magazine and the likes: https://twitter.com/MaximumPowerUp/status/1333342936168345602

I gave this is a listen too and it was a good accompaniment. Between the two, I'm really missing the NGamer days right now. Wouldn't a juicy Christmas Special go down an absolute treat this month?
I hadn't realised Weaver was up to 10 of the Raker books, even though I've been reading them.

I also scrolled through the feed for other folks I might know and listened to the Scullion episode. It was mostly stuff I'd already heard on Tired Old Hack, and whenever he talked about NGamer as the enemy I was always on their side, even with him telling the story!

I guess one difference there is that I only have two gaming podcasts on my feed, and the other one is Tired Old Hack which has been dormant for months. I quite liked hearing about the new machine launches because I haven't heard about them anywhere else. Second episode was definitely the best of the three though!

Ooh looking forward to listening to that, I listened to a Rock, Paper, Shotgun one a few months back and whilst I didn't stick with it due to being primarily PC focused I really enjoyed the general chat and nonsense (mainly from Matthew) that they came out with.

That Tim Weaver interview was brilliant. I didn't realise he went on to do Xbox mags after NGC. Fascinating to hear he didn't have a background in Nintendo, but Amiga instead. Further proof that being able to write well is much more important than how many games you've played.

It is but also why I like Scullion as he can write well and has played a lot of games over a lot of systems, that I feel he knows his onions.

Where I saw on Podcast Unlocked which of course is video not written work had a guest who was some streamer and thought both Sony & Nintendo American along with other things like that.

Episode 4 of The Back Page (best games of 2006) closed out with this belter and therefore I'm ready to call it the second-best gaming podcast of all time.